Sean Morrison gets special police protection at expense of other taxpayers
Most homeowners rarely ask the local police to do a formal security check of their homes. When they do, it might be once or twice a year. But Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison, who owns a security company called Morrison Security, received more than 60 home security checks on average each year that he was in office on the Cook County Board. The security checks are not like normal drive-bys that police provide to regular people routinely. Each Morrison security check required that a report be completed and filed by the police officers.
By Ray Hanania
Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison has tried to define himself as an outspoken critic of government officials who exploit police resources for their personal security.
But reports this week by WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times expose his hypocrisy. Morrison received an inordinate amount of formal police security checks of his home in the tiny suburb of Palos Park, where police costs are more than half the village budget.
Morrison has lived at his one-acre Palos Park property at least 14 years. During the first seven, Morrison’s home barely received any police checks, despite being a prominent Township political official.
But beginning in 2015, after being appointed to the Cook County Board, “Big Shot” Sean Morrison started receiving special attention from the Palos Park Police which made an annual average of 60 formal security checks on his home, or 415 during the past seven years.
These were not the typical security checks by police driving through a neighborhood or passing homes. There are about 2,000 homes that need protection in Palos Park. The police security checks on Morrison’s home were special, formal and detailed. Police were required to document them each time.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve only asked for two formal police security checks during the 35 years I’ve lived at my home. Morrison gets 60 a year? Talk about privilege, and a waste of taxpayer money. Police could be doing more important things like focusing on the needs of the villages 4,899 residents (2020 Census).
These formal home security checks took place while Morrison stood atop his flimsy political soap box and attacked other politicians for abusing police resources.
The need for security checks is burdensome, considering Palos Park police resources constitute more than half of the village’s annual $4.7 million budget.
Even more perplexing is why would a big shot like Morrison — who owns his own security company, Morrison Security with some 850 employees — need the taxpayers to protect his home?
Why would you exploit those police resources, diluting the focus on the homes of your neighbors?
The 415 security checks sound small, but considering Palos Park has only 2000 homes, it means the focus was more on Morrison than on anyone else in the Palos Park.
If I were a Palos Park homeowner, I would be upset with Morrison!
The question is who required this?
In his media response, Morrison threw the Palos Park police under the bus asserting he never requested the security checks — something he must say as he stumbles through the final days of his beleaguered re-election bid. Morrison is being challenged by a real taxpayer and homeowner champion, Elizabeth “Liz” Doody-Gorman.
You can’t take Morrison’s word for anything because he lies so much about almost everything.
My guess is the 415 formal security checks don’t include other routine checks police often make just driving around a neighborhood protecting the less important people, like taxpayers.
Morrison’s hypocrisy is astounding. He constantly complains about tax hikes because it makes him look good to voters, but he can’t even pay his own property taxes on time as the Sun-Times reported in 2017. When asked about it, Morrison claimed he didn’t know he didn’t pay his property taxes.
Didn’t know? That’s the kind of person you want watching the rights of the regular, unimportant people who don’t get special privileges like Morrison?
Is Palos Park thanking Morrison for his support in their battle with Lemont? In 2015, during Morrison’s first year on the County Board, Palos Park was given approval by the County Board to annex county land. It allowed Palos Park the contiguity it needed to annex Lemont Township properties owned by Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, Gleneagles Country Club, Mid Iron Golf Club and Ludwig Farm. That would increase property tax revenues for Palos Park, while taking it away from others.
Morrison claims he is an anti-tax fighter, but in fact he is ineffective. He road the coattails of Cook County Democrats to block the pop tax increase, that he claims he overturned all on his lonesome.
Compare Morrison to Liz Gorman who is clearly better qualified to be the 17th District Cook County Commissioner. When Gorman was on the board, before Morrison, she opposed Stroger’s One Cent Sales Tax hike, which later passed. But, she kept fighting and led a campaign that convinced the Democrat majority on the board to reverse itself and repeal the tax.
Taxpayers can’t afford Sean Morrison. He needs to resign. Why support someone so disrespectful of taxpayer needs?
Read more on Morrison’s failings on the Cook County Board:
Sean Morrison drops the ball fighting for Cook County Republicans. Click here to read.
Sean Morrison can’t stop himself from lying. Click here to read.
The Sean Morrison letter to the Judge I would have written. Click here to read.
Sean Morrison’s judgement questioned in defending sexual predator. Click here to read.
Republicans in Cook County face survival or extinction in June 28 primary election. Click here to read.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter. A political analyst and CEO of Urban Strategies Group, Hanania’s opinion columns on mainstream issues are published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. His Middle East columns are published in the Arab News. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at rghanania@gmail.com.)
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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